Anthony Daly: A night of vindication for Cork warriors but Limerick more dangerous than ever now

Irish Examiner

8 hours ago

AS I was making my way out of the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night, heading for the car-park in Dunnes Stores, this Cork man caught my eye as he was coming towards me at an angle. 'The hype is back, Dalo,' he said in a rich Cork drawl.
'It definitely is,' I replied with a smile. 'And the bookies could have been right (to pay out before the championship on Cork winning the All-Ireland).'
On a night of nights, in a game for the ages, the red hype and fervour swirling around the ground neatly encapsulated the magic floating in the air of one of hurling's greatest events. It was too incredible to make it up.
I got some real heat after the game on social media for my column here Saturday, and for fancying Limerick as strongly as I did, but much of that commentary was based around the question of whether Cork could bring the kind of performance that was required to beat Limerick. Could Cork reach that level? They emphatically did but Limerick certainly weren't at the level expected of them, and they'd have expected off themselves.
All the credit has to go to Cork but Limerick were just a little off all evening. Key players spilled balls you'd never see them losing. Their first touch was off. Adam English's miss at the start of the second half of extra-time nearly summed up their night. He'd normally score that in his sleep. Barry Nash missed another chance that he'd have nailed nine times out of ten. There was a swirling breeze but Limerick were just out of sync all evening, both in their chemistry and execution. Aidan O'Connor scored 1-1 but could have finished with 2-5.
In fairness, Cork could point to plenty of those mistakes too. Ciarán Joyce took on that shot at the end when Conor Lehane was just inside him and it may have even been a goal chance. Seán Finn was cramping up by then, Mike Casey was gone, bodies were wilting everywhere. By that stage, it was just pure luck of the draw.
The penalties summed it all up, especially for Cork. Their best player, Darragh Fitzgibbon missed, while their three penalties were scored by two subs, lads who had nearly been written off – Shane Kingston and Lehane – with the third one nailed by Alan Connolly, who'd been taken off, before being brought back on.
Penalties is no way to decide a Munster final but the GAA have backed themselves into this corner now with the split-season schedule. It's an even bigger joke that there are just seven hurling matches left now at the start of June, two of which are expected to be predictable preliminary quarter-finals. But that's a debate for another day.
SATURDAY was just epic stuff, enthralling and magical. The sight of referee Thomas Walsh being carried off in extra time summed up just how intense and chaotic it all was. James Owens taking over also illustrated the contrast in refereeing styles. I wondered in radio commentary if the change in refs would be significant and Limerick will feel that it probably was, especially with the couple of extra minutes played at the end of extra-time. I'd have to agree with John Kiely – it's hard to see where you'd get over two extra minutes (and nearly four in total) in just a ten minute period.
And yet Limerick were fortunate that the match went to penalties after Nickie Quaid fumbled that last free from Darragh Fitz that went out for a '65 and not in the net.
Darragh's night almost summed up the match. After dropping the last free short, the game looked over until Nickie's fumble. Then Darragh had to step up to hit possibly the most pressurised '65 an amateur player has ever hit – which he nailed. Then he misses Cork first penalty, but his team-mates bail him out.
I thought it was fitting that Lehane buried Cork's next penalty. It was a real night of vindication for Conor, and for Damien Cahalane, two lads that have suffered more, and taken more stick and criticism, than any other Cork players in recent years. Conor was immense in extra-time while Damo was outstanding all through.
And yet, if Cork had lost because of that last free that Damien had conceded, all the old criticisms would have rained down on his head again. That's how fine the line is but the team Pat Ryan picked, and the faith he has shown in all of these players was also a validation of Pat's management and judgement.
I wondered beforehand if starting Diarmuid Healy was the right call, but it certainly was, with Diarmuid really grasping his chance and proving that he is more than equipped to perform in this kind of a furnace. Once again, Seamus Harnedy was outstanding, warrior like until he eventually almost had to be carried off the field.
Cork had warriors everywhere but so had Limerick. It's devastating for them to have missed out on the seven-in-a-row but the very fact that they won six, and narrowly missed out on the seventh, outlines just what this team has achieved.
It's even more bitter with Cork having stopped them from the five-in-a-row last year, but Limerick are still firmly alive in this championship. And they'll be more dangerous than ever after these wounds.
For Cork, the next question now is can they go on and achieve what they want more than anything? Can they prove that Paddy Power was right after all to pay out on them winning the All-Ireland?
I can't wait to see what happens next. Nobody can.